{"id":130,"date":"2023-09-30T19:00:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-30T19:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/rwanda2023\/?p=130"},"modified":"2023-09-30T19:27:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-30T19:27:44","slug":"day-7-have-a-gander-at-umaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/rwanda2023\/2023\/09\/30\/day-7-have-a-gander-at-umaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 7: Have a gander at umaganda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A famous UK politician once said \u2018There is no such thing as society\u2019 \u2026 Well, many Rwandans would disagree, as the last Saturday of every month sees Rwandans across the nation give up three hours of their morning to engage in activities to benefit society as a whole. \u2018Umaganda\u2019, as it is known, includes a wide range of public-spirited activities, ranging from litter-picking to volunteering in schools, medical centres etc. So at 10am a group of volunteers from CWB and the Rwanda men\u2019s cricket team could be found digging and hoeing alongside local people to widen the ditch\/flood-relief system in Nyamata. My hoeing, whilst largely ineffective, enabled me to toil alongside a local teacher and the only person ever to look cool in an outsize cowboy hat\u2026 We have much to learn from Rwandans !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2018What is this life, so full of care
We have no time to stop and stare?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We are all encouraging each other to look up, to look around and just feast in the sights, noises and smells of wherever we may be at the time. It seems that wherever you are in Rwanda you can look or point your camera in any direction and see something truly wonderful. Today I have seen some beautiful birds of prey and a tiny African frog (photo) but sadly,  no goats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This afternoon saw us facilitating a Kwik Cricket tournament for four schools, who each fielded a primary school team and a secondary school team of equal numbers of girls and boys. I am no cricket expert but smiles abounded, everyone whacked a few balls around, and Girl Power was clearly visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n